


Beneath My Feet

by pinkevilbob



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 09:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20889692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkevilbob/pseuds/pinkevilbob
Summary: Jester gets lost in a cave, but a mysterious Caleb is there to rescue her.





	Beneath My Feet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nonsycamore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonsycamore/gifts).

> It's close to nonsycamore's birthday! I don't know when it is, but I know that they wanted monster-hugging widojest. So here it is.

Caves, Jester quickly decided, were boring. They were also dark, weird smelling, and creepy. She was really regretting agreeing to go on a cave tour with Beau. But even more so, she was regretting getting separated from the rest of the group and then getting lost. Jester tried to find her way back to the tour, but only ended up getting more lost. Eventually she just gave up and sat down on a rock to cry. 

"What are you doing here?" someone asked. He had a thick Zemnian accent, but it was too dark to properly see him.

Jester jumped up and nearly tripped. "Oh, um, I got lost?"

A loud sigh. "Are you from the cave tours?"

Jester nodded before she remembered that he couldn't see her. "Yeah. I kinda got separated."

"Ah, come along then."

"Come along where?" Jester asked.

Another sigh."I'll lead you out."

"Oh thank you!" A wave of relief spread over her. "I'm Jester!"

"Caleb Widogast," he said.There was moment of quiet. "Well, aren't you coming?"

Jester frowned. "It's too dark to see anything. I don't know where you are."

"Oh, right. I don't a flashlight or anything, so here." A hand tapped Jester's arm and she grabbed it. "Hold on. I'll get you out of here."

Jester followed Caleb."So, do you spend a lot of time here in the dark? Isn't that scary?"

"Nein, I'm fairly used to it. My eyesight's not very good in the first place," Caleb said. His hand was warm in Jester's. "Watch your step there. It's a bit uneven."

Jester tried to be careful, but she stumbled into Caleb and couldn't help but notice how he flinched away from her. "Sorry," she whispered.

"It's alright, but it can be dangerous down here," Caleb said.

"Why are you here then?" Jester asked.

Caleb tugged her to the left. "I do my research down here. I live down in the caves there."

"The tour didn't mention anything about people living down here."

"I hardly count as people. And I tend to not advertise my presence here," Caleb said.

Jester thought about what he said. "So you're squatting down here."

Caleb let out a surprised laugh. "I guess you can call it that." 

"Are you safe down here?" Jester asked.

"Enough. You're going to have to step down here."

Jester carefully stepped down and continued to follow Caleb. "Are you alone here?"

"Nein, I have my cat and my friend visits me often, so it's fine."

"But you visit outside right?" Jester asked.

Caleb snorted. "I'm not the outside type."

Jester pouted at him despite the pitch darkness of it all. "Vitamin D is super important. You should get some sunlight."

He tugged her hand closer to him. "It gets narrow here,so watch your step. It's over a fifty foot drop here. Anyways, I have a sun lamp,"Caleb said. "You shouldn't worry about me anyways."

"But it's so dark here. I bet it could drive a person crazy," Jester said.

"Maybe, but I'm fine."

"I couldn't do it," Jester said. Just then the earth gave away under her foot and she found herself slipping.

Caleb tried to pull her up, but her hand slipped out of his grip. Jester slid down over the side despite her efforts. Scrambling, Jester grabbed onto a ledge, but she didn't have enough purchase to pull herself up. "Jester!" Caleb called out.

"I'm down here! I can't pull myself up." Her heart was racing and Jester couldn't think straight.

"It's alright, it's going to be okay. Don't be scared." A small light came on and two pale arms appeared over the side of walkway. They grabbed onto Jester's wrists. "There I got you. I'm not very strong, so you're going to have to work with me here."

It was struggle, but they managed to get Jester up. She stared at Caleb next to a lantern. A lantern which he said he didn't have. But more surprising was Caleb himself. His eyes were covered with a slim strip of white cloth. He was ghostly pale with patches of rusty red scales on his arms, hands and face. Instead of hair, he had a writhing mass of red snakes matching his scales on his head. From the waist down, Caleb had a snake tail. "Please, don't scared," he whispered.

Not knowing what to do, Jester just laughed nervously. "What are you?"

"I think the right term is gorgon. Beyond that I don't know," Caleb said looking away.

"Why are your eyes covered? Are you blind? Can you see through your snakes? Do you eat people?" Jester asked. "Are you going to eat me?"

Caleb tilted his head at her for a moment before answering. "I'm not blind, but my eyes are dangerous so I keep them covered. My snakes can kinda sense things, but nothing that makes much sense. And no, I don't eat people, and I'm definitely not eating you."

"That's good. Do your snakes have names?" Jester asked.

"Nein. You're not afraid?"

Jester bit her lip. "I don't know what to think. This kinda super freaky."

"Ja, that's one way to put it." Caleb curled his tail around himself.

"Were you always like this?" Jester asked sitting down next to Caleb.

Caleb glanced at Jester, or at least she guessed he did. "It's a long story. Are you okay?"

"I think so. You saved me."

Caleb blushed. "It was nothing."

Jester shook her head. "No it wasn't. You're my hero."

"I wouldn't put it that way, but you're welcome," Caleb said. He stretched upwards. "I should bring you back to your tour. They're probably waiting for you."

"Yeah, you're right," Jester said a little disappointed. "But that's why you live down here all by yourself? Because you're a snake man?"

Caleb nodded. "Ja. I'm not safe to be around and it's not safe for me out there either. But I've got Frumpkin. He's a good cat. And Nott brings me everything I need."

"Oh, but doesn't it still get lonely down here?" Jester asked as she got up.

"I have books." But that was just avoiding the question. He picked up the lantern. "Come along."

Jester shifted from foot to foot. "Um, can we hold hands again?"

"What?"

Jester ran her hands over her skirt. "I'd feel safer if we held hands."

Caleb's face softened and his snakes almost looked almost sympathetic. "Ja, of course." He extended his hand towards her and she took it.

"Thanks." It felt so comfortable and natural to hold hands with Caleb. "You know, I could visit you down here. If you'd like."

"Really? You would?" Caleb's snakes perked up in surprise.

Jester nodded with a grin. "Yeah! I mean, this is super cool, Caleb, and I want to see where you live. I bet it's really neat."

"It's nothing special," Caleb said, but his blush had returned. "Though, if you really wanted to, you can come with Nott. She works at the gift shop near the entrance." A faint light glowed in the distance. "Oh, if you just go straight towards the light, you'll be at the main part of the cave."

"Oh." Jester knew that she should be excited to return to the tour, but she just found herself wishing she could spend more time with Caleb. "Thank you." She pressed a kiss onto Caleb's cheek.

He covered the spot she kissed with his hand and nodded. "Ja, you're welcome."

Jester let go of his hand to wave goodbye. "I'll see you later, Caleb!" She headed towards the light with a slight skip in her step. Sure, she couldn't tell anybody about her new friend Caleb, but being secret made Caleb all the more special. A smile spread across her lips. Maybe caves weren't that boring after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Snake Caleb!
> 
> The title comes from 'Concrete and Clay' by Unit 4 + 2. ...it was all I could think of.


End file.
